Donation will fund literacy area at Children’s House
Posted on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Plans for a literacy center inside the new Children's House in Springdale are under way thanks to a $ 100, 000 donation from the Junior League of Northwest Arkansas.
"We feel very passionate toward the children," league President Becky Koonce said. "Our mission works around improving the lives of women and children. This just cements the relationship and the commitment we have with the Children's House."
Koonce and fellow Junior Leaguers joined with Children's House representatives on Tuesday for a check presentation banquet at the UARK Bowl in Fayetteville. The donation will help fund a literacy center inside the new Children's House, slated to open in Springdale sometime late next year. The room will house all the materials used by the instructors of Children's House. It will also serve as an avenue to allow the Junior League to further partner with Children's House to provide volunteer hours for league members to maintain the room with materials for the children and teachers.
"What's exciting about this is that the room they're helping to fund will be the core part of our program," said Trish Jones, Children's House director. "It will house all the educational materials. It will be the hub of our entire program."
She added that the volunteer hours dedicated by Junior League members are equally as valuable.
"Not only are they helping to make this room possible but they'll also be right beside us helping to set things up and implement the educational material," she said. "They'll be invested at the beginning and throughout, helping ensure that we're using this room at the optimal capacity."
Koonce said Junior League members hope the donation will impact Northwest Arkansas as a whole.
"Our league is 16 years old, and this is the first substantial gift we've made," she said. "For a number of years, the Junior League has been able to partner with Children's House. We've given a number of volunteer hours and watched this par tner ing agency outgrow its space. During that time, the league has been slowly working toward the goal of making an impact on the community of Nor thwest Arkansas. When Children's House approached us about the new building, we knew that this was the partnering agency we wanted to make the impact within Northwest Arkansas."
The Children's House, which offers therapeutic child development and crisis intervention for children 18 months to 5 years of age who have been abused and / or neglected, is the only preschool center in the state that works exclusively with children who are victims of abuse or neglect. Children's House serves about 20 children each year, providing a stable and safe environment to learn and grow.
The Junior League of Northwest Arkansas is made up of about 300 women committed to "promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers," according to a press release from the organization. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.
The Children's House is currently located at 2190 S. Razorback Road. For more information or to make a donation go to www. childrenshousenwa. org. To contact the Junior League of Northwest Arkansas, go to www. juniorleaguenwa. org.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
